Chats and the composer
Direct chats, group chats and task channels, @mentions, attachments, the “+” menu for computer and focus, and handing off from the composer.
Updated 2026-10-13
Kinds of chat
| Chat | Who is in it |
|---|---|
| Pytheus | You and Pytheus. You can keep many chats going. |
| Direct chat with an employee | You and one teammate. Needs Base or Premium, where employees live. |
| Group chat | You, Pytheus and the employees you pick. Needs Base or Premium. An un-addressed message goes to Pytheus. |
| Task channel | A tracked task’s own channel: its brief, progress log and checks, with the task’s owner. |
@mentions
In a group chat, @Name addresses one member. Agents mention each other too (“@Kai draft three experiments”). Names show as small coloured chips so it is clear who is speaking to whom.
The “+” menu
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Attach files | Send files with your message. Employees can read PDFs, Office files and images. |
| Hand off a task | Opens the hand-off dialog. See Tracked tasks. |
| Tools and apps | In a teammate’s chat only: their tools, and the apps they can use. |
| Computer | Auto (opens it when the job needs it), Off (never) or On (always). |
| Focus | For the next message only: Code, Web and sites, Documents or Research. It adds that family of tools for the run. |
A dot on the + shows when either setting differs from the default.
Focus families
| Focus | Adds these tools for the run |
|---|---|
| Code | sandbox_exec, write_file, read_file, list_files, browse_page, github_repo_edit, analyze_data |
| Web and sites | website_create, website_edit, deploy_website, screenshot_page, browse_page, write_file, read_file, list_files, sandbox_exec |
| Documents | read_document, create_office_file, edit_office_file, write_file, read_file, list_files, analyze_data |
| Research | web_research, browse_page, save_to_library |
The same focus can be set when you hand work to Pythe from outside: the focus input of the MCP assign_task tool takes auto, code, web, documents or research. See MCP: AI team tools.
What agents show in a chat
- A live line of the answer as it is written, then the saved answer.
- Step cards for the tools they used.
- Plan cards when the computer opens, with the reason.
- Run, delivery and file cards with previews.
- Approval, question and connect cards that you resolve in place.
- A hire card when Pytheus suggests a hire.